Writers Without Borders

Last week I had two major accomplishments. The first was to successfully apply for unemployment benefits. That was an exercise in patience. I called the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance phone number and then waited on hold for what seemed like hours before an agent could take my call and process my claim. Once I got off hold things were much easier. The woman who interviewed me was polite and efficient and seemed genuinely helpful and friendly. To tell the truth, I expected nothing different. My experience with employees of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, at least the ones I’ve dealt with on the phone, is that they are usually very helpful, if somewhat hard to reach. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that I try to be pleasant in return.

My other accomplishment was to start a writers’ group. I’ve felt for some time that I need a support group of other writers willing to give my work a critical yet sympathetic eye in return for my own considered opinion, when asked for, of their own efforts. Now that I’m seriously considering writing for a living I’m also interested in sharing leads on work and tips on the business side of writing. In the end it doesn’t matter how good you are if nobody reads you or at least pays you.

The meeting went very well for an organizational meeting. We met around a booth in the seating area of my local Whole Foods Market to discuss our aims and goals. I came prepared with agendas and some speeches since I didn’t know who might show up. I also brought my sidekick, Maura. She says she wants to be a writer someday and it won’t hurt her to get some ideas about what writers do (besides write of course). Four of my writing friends showed up. Two were colleagues from Borders; two were old friends from other places. Everyone had known Maura since she was very small and no one minded when she put her two cents in, which she did very intelligently. We all reminded her to wipe the chocolate smears of her face from the chocolate gelato I bought her as a treat.

We’ll be meeting again in another week. I’m looking forward to it. I won’t be bringing Maura to the next meeting, which will be in the evening, but I will bring her to future meetings. She wants to share her work. When I do bring her to another meeting and she does share her work I expect her to listen to the critiques she gets. Maybe I’ll ask her to write a post for this blog and have that critiqued by the group. I’d love to see her write a Travels with Daddy post someday.

2011 Boston Kidney Walk

Last Sunday Maura, Jennifer and I walked in the 2011 Boston Kidney Walk at the Franklin Park Zoo. We, or more accurately Team Captain Jennifer, raised $400 for the National Kidney Foundation and we had a very enjoyable visit to the zoo. Thank you to everyone who sponsored us in the walk.

Sunday was a gray, misty day and threatened rain but it held off actually raining until we had finished the three mile walk around the zoo and were returning to our car. On the way we had a nice easy stroll and a fun visit to the zoo. Maura at age eight still gets excited by watching animals and her young-at-heart parents do too. It was a chilly day but warm enough for the animals to be outside, except for the giraffes and the gorillas. The highlights of this visit were the peacocks, the budgies at the Aussie Aviary and the ring tailed lemurs in the Rainforest Pavilion. The peacocks were running loose throughout the zoo and were displaying their gorgeous iridescent tails, though there didn’t seem to be any peahens around to impress. At the Aussie Aviary we purchased a seed stick to feed the budgies and they flew down and perched on Maura’s hands while she fed them. The troop of lemurs has two new additions born at the end of March. The baby lemurs were really cute scrambling on their mother’s back and holding on as she jumped through the branches in their habitat.

More important than having a good time, we did our part to help the National Kidney Foundation help people suffering from kidney disease.  According to the National Kidney Foundation one in nine American adults suffers from chronic kidney disease, though many don’t know it. Many of the sufferers will eventually face kidney failure and a kidney transplant or life on dialysis. Among those with kidney disease are my mother, who has had a kidney transplant, and me, who may someday need one. We walked in honor of my mother, and of my father, who donated her transplanted kidney. I ask that you consider supporting the National Kidney Foundation, perhaps by sponsoring a walker or joining a team in your local Kidney Walk. Chances are you know someone, a family member or a friend perhaps, who also suffers from kidney disease and will thank you personally for your efforts. You have my thanks already.

Maura’s Ice Show Debut

Saturday night was the ice show that Maura had spent the previous week working hard to prepare for. She was excited all day and could hardly wait to perform. I think the only reason she was able to sleep Friday night was that she had worked very hard at the dress rehearsal and she was tired. On the night of the show she was nervous, but ready.

The Rockland Rink Ice Show was titled “Holiday Memories” and had a holiday theme. Maura was in two numbers with other girls of approximately her size and skill. “If You Are Irish” was a St. Patrick’s Day number and the girls wore sparkly green costumes. “Shake a Tail” didn’t have a holiday theme but it was a fun, sassy song that Maura really enjoyed performing to. Maura did a great job in both of her numbers, especially since it was the first time she’d skated with a group or for an audience. Maura wasn’t the best skater in the group but she did what she was supposed to do with a smile on her face. I was particularly impressed with her part in a pinwheel. She had one of the outer ends of a rotating line of skaters so she had to skate the fastest. She’d never done anything like that before she learned the routine for the show only a week before.

Jennifer and I went to the show mostly to see Maura but we didn’t leave when her part was over. It was fun watching the other numbers, too. The little kids were really cute. The more experienced synchronized skating teams and some of the solo performers were very impressive. If Maura stays interested in skating and keeps working hard at it she might have a solo in a show someday. I expect to see her skate in a few more ice shows. She certainly enjoyed her part in this one.

Maura on Ice

Maura has been taking figure skating lessons for a year and a half now. She has enjoyed being on the ice from the start and has made enormous progress. By now she’s learned all the basic moves and has started to learn how to put them together. Her enthusiasm has never flagged and she gets excited every time there is any prospect of ice time. At the same time she is very serious. When she is practicing a move and fails to do it to her satisfaction she shakes her head and does it again until she feels she’s gotten it right. I am very proud.

Recently Maura has expressed interest in going beyond taking group lessons. Jennifer and I asked her if she wants to compete and she is eager to give it a try. With financial assistance from her grandparents (she’s their only grandchild after all) we’re getting her private coaching starting this summer and her coach will be working out a routine for her to perform in competition in the fall. I don’t know how she’ll do but if she does not do well it won’t be from lack of effort. Maura concentrates well for an eight year old especially when she’s focusing on something she really loves.

Competition won’t start for Maura until October but she’s got a big ice skating event this Saturday. The rink where Maura takes her lessons has an ice show every spring and Maura is participating in it for the first time. In addition to her Monday afternoon lesson she has rehearsals this week. Her Mother and I are looking forward to seeing her perform. Some of our friends are planning to come and see her too. Maybe I’ll make a sign to hold up wishing her well. Then again, maybe I won’t. I don’t want to distract her or embarrass her.

In any case, when I see Maura skating I know the hours I’ve spent shivering at the rink have been worth it. I’m very glad she’s found something to be passionate about and I hope she keeps it up, whether she does well in competition or not.

A Visit from Grandma and Grandpa

My parents came from Indiana last week on their annual spring visit. They make a point of visiting several times a year because we don’t have many chances to visit them. They don’t want to miss their only granddaughter growing up. I doubt we’d see them quite as often if it were only Jennifer and me. As always everyone enjoyed the visit though we didn’t have as many adventures as I had planned.

They arrived last Tuesday. Jennifer took the whole week off and Maura was on her spring break so we were all here to greet them when they arrived. We went out to lunch to Sweet Lemons, our local Thai restaurant, which we go to for lunch almost every time they visit. We all enjoy going out to eat.  The rest of the day we just spent relaxing. My parents had had a long drive and I didn’t want to wear them out.

On Wednesday I’d tentatively planned to take a trip to the Cape Cod National Seashore but the weather was lousy. We stayed closer to home instead. The rink where Maura takes ice skating lessons had a free skate period during the day so we took a drive there so Maura could practice and show off her progress to her grandparents. Damp chilly weather doesn’t matter much in the ice rink. It’s always cold in there. We all enjoyed the time, though, despite the shivering. We went out for a nice dinner in the evening.

On Thursday we made an expedition to Cambridge to visit the Longfellow National Historic Site, which consists of the house where the poet Longfellow lived along with its grounds. In an earlier generation the building had been George Washington’s headquarters. We were disappointed because the house was not open for tours, though we had assumed it would be because Jennifer had found it on a list of National Park properties that would be free that week. The gardens were open, and free, but they are always free. They were quite beautiful with early blooming trees, though they will be even more gorgeous in a month or two. We will have to go back during the summer, when I expect the house will be open for tours. Our trip was not a complete waste. We had a nice lunch and did some shopping. Maura got two gifts, both of them books. She tends to get what she wants when her grandparents are around but I’m proud of what she wants. In the evening I took my parents to church with me for Maundy Thursday services.

On Friday Maura went to the Weymouth Carnival with her mother and grandparents. I stayed home because I’d come down with a nasty cold. Maura had a great time. I know because I’ve seen the pictures. I am not surprised. Maura loves carnival rides. It was back to church in the evening for me and my parents for the Good Friday service. Despite being under the weather, I did not want to miss it.

We took Saturday off. I was still not feeling well and everyone else seemed to want a rest. I did have to work in the evening.

Sunday we celebrated Easter. For my parents and me it is a religious holiday and we started the day with church but the centerpiece of the day for Maura and Jennifer was dinner. We had Easter dinner with our friends the Tittlers. We’ve been friends with them long enough that they’ve gotten to know my parents and everyone enjoyed the visit. Julie Tittler is a good cook and she does her best work on holiday meals. It would be hard not to enjoy a meal that good eaten among friends.

Maura was back to school on Monday. We all went out for pizza in the evening and followed it with ice cream at Nona’s in Hingham. They make their own ice cream there, and it’s a real treat. It was a good end to the visit. In the morning my parents hit the road and headed back home to Indiana.

Adventures in Frugality, Part 3: Surprising Results

Because I haven’t yet managed to find any more sources of income we’re still trying to cut the weekly budget to make up for my still impending loss of a job. What amazes me is how well we’ve managed to do. Six months ago we took out $240 each week to cover food, gas and sundries. We’ve been cutting back for a while but now we’re down $180 a week. Despite the rising costs of food and gas we’re doing quite well. In fact I often find that I have more money in my pocket at the end of the week than I did when we were taking out more cash.


Last week I had enough left over at the end of the week to take Maura out to lunch on Friday, which she had off from school. We went to Windy City Eats, our favorite local hot dog stand. The hot dogs are Chicago style and the best I’ve had for a long time, served with a smile and no ketchup. Lunch there always makes Maura’s day and the prices are very reasonable. [Local readers in search of a good hot dog can find Windy City Eats at 407 Middle Street, Weymouth, MA and on the web at www.windycityeats.com.]

I suspect the reason we’ve been doing so well is that we’ve been paying attention to what we spend our money on. We’ve been saving money on our food bills by buying meat in larger amounts when it’s cheap and eating more vegetarian meals. I’m still driving as little as possible and once my current job ends I’ll be taking even fewer trips.

There is one disclaimer on our weekly spending numbers. They do not include the cost of most of our vegetables. We get those from a CSA and pay for them in advance so they don’t come out of the weekly budget. We paid $130 for eight weeks of fresh, mostly locally grown produce. The quality is better than what we’d buy in the supermarket and we support local farmers. We’re still spending less than $200 a week. We were getting our vegetables from a CSA six months ago, too, so the amount we've cut from our budget is real.

A Walk in the Blue Hills

Our good run of weekend weather continued this weekend. We celebrated with a hike in the Blue Hills. We parked our car near the park headquarters and hiked between there and Great Blue Hill, hiking in a loop that included both branches of the rugged Skyline Trail. The weather was perfect, cool enough to be comfortable but warm enough to hike in a T-shirt once we got going. There were lots of people on the trails, not a surprise in the well-travelled Blue Hills. We were joined on our hike by our friend Andrew Tittler and his children. His youngest rode on her daddy’s back but Maura and his oldest child hike well enough on their own.
Though the weather was perfect it was not the most enjoyable hike I’ve ever been on. Maura can be a great hiking companion but on this occasion she was not on her best behavior. Maura is like any other child. Some days she’s a blessing and a joy to be around. On other days she is selectively deaf and won’t hear a word you say to her over her own whining. Sunday was one of the later days. She asked for a drink of water about every five minutes and had to be told so many times not to climb over rocks that weren’t on the trail that I lost my temper and yelled at her. I don’t like to do that. Needless to say we saw little wildlife, though with many other hikers on the trail we weren't likely to see anything shy.

Perhaps it was just a bad day for Maura or perhaps it was that she was hiking with another child. Maura usually goes out in the woods with just her parents. It must be easier to listen to us when no one is competing for her attention.

Fortunately Maura is usually a pleasure to be around. We’ve enjoyed many hikes together and I expect we’ll enjoy many more. Maura’s spring break starts on Friday so we’ll have plenty of time for adventures together and with her with her grandparents, who will be visiting. I’m looking forward to it.